Budget concerns: ‘A fuel duty hike would be awful’

Tax rises, public sector wages and fresh help for pensioners are all issues that voters in Worcestershire want clarity on in this week's budget.

On Wednesday, the government will deliver the 2024 autumn Budget - Labour's first in almost 15 years.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has warned it will involve "difficult financial decisions" as she tries to find £40bn, through a mixture of savings and tax rises.

In Worcestershire, families, businesses, pensioners and a community group have shared their hopes and fears about what it might contain.

Helen James is a mother of two and part-time cleaner in Kidderminster. Her husband Sid works in an NHS hospital.

With only around £100 in disposable income left after bills each month, she said the cost of living remained challenging.

"My husband works two jobs, so that we can actually pay all of the bills. But even still, at the end of the month there isn't much left," she said.

While Mr James's pay is due to rise by 5.5% this year, she said it did not match the rising cost of food, fuel and utility bills.

"It would be nice if his salary with the NHS reflected what's actually happening."

While she welcomed Labour's pledge not to raise taxes on working people, Mrs James shared her worry fuel duty would go up.

"We do need to have two cars... with my work, I've looked at it, and it would take me over an hour to get to some cleaning jobs, and by the time I was there, I was meant to be on to the next one."

"So for us, fuel duty going up would be awful."

Richard Sadler is a director and co-owner at CJC Aggregates and Landscaping Supplies, a building business based outside Worcester.

Founded in 2020, it now employs nine people and has an annual turnover of £1.6m.

Its success depends on homeowners feeling they have enough disposable income to look at getting a garden makeover.

"What I need to hear is that they are going to look after people and ensure that their levels of disposable income are not absolutely caned," he said.

"It's making sure that my end customer has the money in his pocket to spend on affordable luxuries."

With the chancellor expected to use Wednesday's budget to increase the National Insurance rates for employers, Mr Sadler warned such a move could prevent his business from growing further.

"We want to keep growing the business and employing more people, but if our current staff bill goes up exponentially, that might mean we have to put the brakes on our expansion plans," he added.

Ahead of the Budget, the government has already confirmed winter fuel payments for pensioners will now be means-tested.

At a weekly "Snack and Chat" event at the Horizon hub in Worcester, pensioner Mary Leighton, 76, said the move had come at short notice, affecting her ability to plan for the winter.

"Everybody says, 'Oh, but your pensions going up in April'. By April, I'll be in debt if I run my heating as I would have done a couple of years ago.

"Everything else is going up, and then they take money off you."

She urged Sir Keir Starmer to reverse or delay the cut.

"If he could rethink for this winter and make a decision for next winter in the spring, [we will] have time to organise ourselves and rearrange what's happening," she said.

Next door at the Horizon hub, Andrew Wills runs a pottery class for adults with learning disabilities.

It is one of many activities arranged by his not-for-profit organisation, Next Steps.

He urged the chancellor to protect social care funding for local councils, which face a funding gap of more than £2bn next year, according to the Local Government Association.

"The funding is vital," he said. "We'd be looking at them ensuring that it is ringfenced... or at least it doesn't decrease.

"That puts immense pressure on the resources and the service we provide".

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